SCFTA Perris Round 8
August 23, 2014

Photos
by Janice Blunt

Article
by Jamey Blunt

This is the distance that separated #98 Kayl Kolkman and #37
Jimmy Wood with two laps remaining in the Pro Main Event.

#37
Jimmy Wood led the early stages of the pro final over #98 Kayl
Kolkman, but after swapping the lead a few times Kolkman made
it
stick and went on to victory.

The
start of the pro main event saw #37 Jimmy Wood on pole
with #98
Kayl Kolkman to his right. The rest of the front row compiled
of #12y John Vanderlan, #43 A J Hateley, #87 Jeff Johnson and
#46
Andre Ochs.

#26
Travis Freidrich had to battle through fifteen riders just to
reach the Open Novice "A" main event. Then after all that he
raced
the "A" main to take a well deserved victory! His 16.06 second
lap
time was also the fastest in the class.

#28
Ron Lessley showed up at Perris with his Bultaco and not only hammered
the Classic Vintage class, he also had the fastest lap time at
16.42 seconds! #4r Lenny Rodriguez and #95 Tom
Ferguson swapped
places by the end of the race,

#46 Road Racer Andre Ochs had to work his way to the
front for
the victory in the Open Unclassified Main. #112 Jace Callison
and
#3 (Road Racer) Joe Roberts succumb to Och's speed. He would
also go on to finish fourth in the pro main event after a
terrible
start.

#87
Jeff Johnson is fast; even when he's fast asleep! Johnson
(having
fun) won the Bomber main event over #82 Travis Petton the 2nd
with
a fastest lap time of 15.12 seconds.

#82
Travis Petton the 4th pretty much owns everything on an 85cc
motorcycle. #12 James Ott seems to nail the starts and
#7x Grant
Holmes is FAST! But somehow Travis seems to always finish
first. His fastest lap was 15.95 seconds.

#5
Rachel Schnakenberg in new to Perris, coming from
speedway racing.
But she put in a good show topping the 50cc 2-stk beginner
field. Her fastest lap was 22.18 seconds. #95 Jiselle Welch
gives
chase.

#25
Travis (Corner Speed) Horn is one of the fastest in the 50cc class
period. His corner speed is second to none, and he lapped at
19.09
seconds on a 50cc!

#198
Alex Crosby held off #95 Clayton Williams for the victory in
the
Youth 250cc Open final. He also came back with a second in the
Open Amateur main event. His fastest lap was a
blistering 15.39
seconds!

Head E.M.T. at Perris, Ashleigh gives Eli (who works
about every
position at the races depending on what's needed) a ride at
the
intermission break.

Photos by
Janice Blunt - Article by Jamey Blunt

Flat Track or sometimes referred to as Dirt Track is the only form of
motorcycle competition that is unique to; or originated if you will, in
the United States. In some of the earliest years there were the Board
Tracks made from Two by Four boards turned on their sides, hence the
name. Then there were the fair ground horse race tracks adapted as well
as possible for motorcycles. As the sport progressed purpose built race
tracks evolved across this great country and all was right with the
world. Then from across the pond came word of a new discipline called
Moto-Cross and the racing of motorcycles changed forever. This is but a
short glimpse at what transpired, but back to Flat Track, thankfully
there are still those who remember the days gone by and are willing to
do what they can to keep Flat Track racing alive. The S.C.F.T.A. is one
such entity and with the tireless efforts of Vince Graves, Donna and
Freddie Edwards the sport has steadily grown to and average of one
hundred fifty entries at each round. Not to forget the pristine ¼ mile
race track they built at great expense. There's hope for the rebel
alliance yet, young steel shoed Jedi's.

With eleven different youth classes from 50cc machines all the way up
to and including the 250cc mounts this composes forty one entries of
the total one hundred forty six on hand for round eight. In the 250cc
field Alex Crosby has become the force to be reckoned with. Clayton
Williams, Jace Callison, and Travis Petton the 4th gave chase in this
order. A lap into the race saw things settle down as Allison Stacey
settled in at fifth with Justin Hanson sixth and Grant Holmes seventh.
Lap three Crosby posted the fastest lap of the race at 15.39 seconds as
the front three were separating themselves from the rest of the field.
The order would remain unchanged to the finish and later in the program
Crosby would test himself against the big boys in the Open Amateur
class where he finished second to Jace Callison.

The 50cc class has four different divisions as to two-stroke or four
stroke machines, novices or beginners, in an attempt to level the
racing field. Newcomer Rachel Schnakenberg took the victory in the
largest 50cc field, but it was Travis (corner speed) Horn who once
again was the overall fastest of the 50's with a lap time of 18.77
seconds.

His win came in the 50cc 4-stk novice final.

Travis Petton the 4th and Alyssa Flores both jumped the start in the
85cc 2-stk Novice final and started the race from the penalty line. On
the re-start James Ott led through turns one and two followed by Grant
Holmes. On the first run down the back straight Petton was quickly up
to third and on the exit from turn four passed Holmes for second
position. For three laps Petton pressured Ott, who was protecting the
inside line keeping Petton at bay. Then on the start of lap four
entering turn one Ott left an opening and Petton made a move only to
have Ott take his line away keeping Petton in second, but Petton was
not to be denied and got a drive down the back straight and took over
the lead entering turn three. With little time left the order was set
and as they crossed the stripe it was Petton, Ott, Holmes, Evan Harich,
Alyssa Flores and Frank Flores. The 85cc Open class had the same
players with Petton (15.95 sec.) picking up his second victory, only
this time over Holmes who upped his lap time to 16.04 seconds to top
Ott (16.30 sec.) who finished in third.

The Youth 65-70cc Class is another one that has several classes
combined in one race. Zack Earwood at 20.45 seconds was the top 4-stk
beginner in the field with Rocco Landers besting Conner Hickerson in
the 2-stk beginner final.

Jeff Johnson dressed all in black like Darth Vader used the force
(underneath him) in his Yamaha TT-500 to launch from the starting line
in the Bomber main event. Jimmy Lundgren who has really picked up his
pace lately was away in second only to have Travis Petton the 2nd take
the position away in the blink of an eye. Joe Steffen ran in fourth
with Jeff Gonzales and Pete Lawson giving chase. Three laps complete
has Johnson with a 1.3 second advantage over Petton with Johnson
posting the fastest lap of the race at 15.12 seconds to Petton's 15.30.
At this point Lundgren also made a huge mistake in turn two but managed
to save it, only it was too late as Steffen pounced and took over at
third. As they took the checkered flag the finishing order was Johnson,
Petton, Steffen, Lundgren, Gonzales and Lawson.

Thirteen riders made up the Vet +35 Main Event. Paul Ott was first to
leave the starting line with Brad Rudy in second, Jim Medlin third, Jim
Rose fourth, Bill Kolkman fifth, and Jeff Lessley on a Suzuki 500cc
2-stk twin in sixth. Ott at the front was starting to get away as
Medlin moved past Rudy for second with Rose following him through
dropping Rudy to fourth. On the next run through turns three and four
Rosa gave Medlin a love tap as Jim Bandelin was on the ground on the
exit from turn two. At the white flag Ott held a sizable lead with a
four way battle over second behind him. On the last lap Medlin suffered
what looked to be an engine problem allowing Rosa up into second,
Kolkman to advance to third, with Robert Stettler finishing in fourth
as Medlin dropped all the way back to fifth. Lap time wise Ott held the
fastest lap at 15.72 seconds, with Rudy the only other rider to drop
into the fifteens at 15.89 seconds.

The Open Unclassified is a race whatever you want class. New, old,
doesn't matter, what it does though is provide more seat time for the
riders, all of whom are usually entered in other classes. Andre Ochs
made a second appearance at Perris but it was Jace Callison who would
lead into turn one with Joe Roberts in second but on the far outside as
Ochs dropped to the pole and went to work and advanced to second by the
completion of the first lap. Two laps in had Frankie Garcia find his
pace and advance to fourth closing in on the leaders. At this point
Ochs had also disposed of Callison at the front and was attempting to
break away from the field. On the start of lap four Roberts stuck a
wheel under Callison in turn one and pushed Callison wide which allowed
Roberts into second and Garcia with heads up racing taking over at
third. Next time around Ochs saw the white flag and posted a 15.62
second lap time, the fastest of the race. As the checkered flag came
out, the finishing order was Ochs, Roberts, Garcia, Callison, and L J
Gronek.

On the first attempted start of the Senior Vet +50 expert final Jim
Wood jumped the start and was sent to the penalty line. On the second
attempted start Jimmy Lundgren did likewise and was sent back. On the
third attempted start John Perez led the field into turn one only to
make a mistake in turn two and see a flash of color that was Joe
Steffen as he shot past Perez for the lead. Larry Earhart ran in third
with Bill Kolkman in fourth. Steffen up front was getting away and put
in the fastest lap time of the field at 15.14 seconds. By the
completion of two laps Steffen held a sizable lead over Perez, who
under pressure from Earhart tried to make Perris a bigger track than it
is when he went real wide between turns three and four allowing Earhart
to close to his back wheel. At the white flag Steffen held a three
second advantage at the front as Jim Ottele came pushing his way
forward from fourth to pass Perez for second place, this making the
final tally Steffen, Ottele, Perez, Earhart, and Jim Wood climbing back
up to fifth.

The top nine from a field of fifteen fought their way into the Open
Novice "A" main event. Brian Harmon led the field through turns one and
two with Travis Freidrich glued to his back wheel. On the second exit
from turn two Freidrich shot past Harmon to take over the lead as
Parker Earhart settled in at third with Henry Canan in fourth. Once out
front Freidrich put his head down and left the field behind to fight
over second on back. Freidrich also posted the fastest lap of the race
at 16.06 seconds as he went on to take the victory over Harmon, with
Canan getting past Earhart for third displacing Earhart to fourth with
Jim Bandelin in fifth.

After two red flags and four starts the Open Amateur main event was
finally underway. When it was all said and done Jace Callison who had
the overall fastest lap at 15.25 seconds won the war over Alex Crosby,
Joel Kath, Josh Welch, Clayton Williams, Allison Stacey, and Colton
Elliott. This which was all that was left of the field running after
all the mayhem.

Fourteen riders made up the Pro Main Event. Jimmy Wood in a rare racing
appearance at Perris sat on pole next to Kayl Kolkman both of whom were
heat race winners. Wood was first to leave the line with Kolkman close
behind. Pushing hard through the field to slot in at third was past
S.C.F.T.A. Pro class champion A J Hateley. Travis Petton the 2nd was in
fourth with Jeff Johnson fifth, and Joe Roberts in sixth. Four laps
complete saw the front three separate themselves from the field with
Wood and Kolkman holding a slight advantage over Hateley. By this point
Andre Ochs who entered turn one in twelfth was starting his march
forward picking off riders one by one. Lap six Wood went wide between
turns three and four and Kolkman went past to take over at the front as
Petton and Johnson were swapping paint over the fourth place position.
Then starting lap seven Kolkman went wide entering turn one as Wood
dove to the inside to retake the lead and blocked Kolkman's line
entering turn three to secure the position. At this point Hateley was
about twelve bike lengths back watching and waiting to see what might
happen. By lap eight the leaders were into lappers as Ochs was still
moving forward. With five laps remaining Kolkman went to the inside on
the exit from turn four and crossed the line side by side with Wood for
the lead. With four laps to go Kolkman had secured his position at the
front as he worked through the lappers. Wood though was only about
three bike lengths back giving it his all. Hateley was alone in third
with Petton fourth and Roberts fifth under attack from Ochs, who was
putting on a final push forward. With three laps remaining Ochs passed
Roberts for fifth and was locked in on Petton in front of him, a half
lap later Ochs put a wheel under Petton and took over fourth making him
the biggest gainer in the race. As the white flag came out a rider was
down between turns three and four as the field avoided him. Kolkman
went on to victory by four bike lengths over Wood with Hateley a solid
third and Ochs a hard earned fourth. Wood would post the fastest
overall lap time of the night at 14.64 seconds to Kolkman's 14.80.
After the race Kolkman and Wood had this to say. (Wood) "It was tired
out there, was I the only one to think that or did you think so too
Kayl?" (Kayl) "There was a thick mist of tired out there!" "Yea it
started settling down about lap eight; didn't you feel it up in the
tower? Or were the windows closed?" Good to see that after a hard race
these two national riders still have the energy for a good sense of
humor!